


BHAH Part 1: Between Heaven and Hell

by YaoiAnimeHunter



Series: Between Heaven and Hell [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Drama, Kidnapping, M/M, Mpreg, Romance, Slight Humor, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:48:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaoiAnimeHunter/pseuds/YaoiAnimeHunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Renji shows up in the human world covered in seals, after disappearing ten years ago, Ichigo, Byakuya, Yoruichi and Soi-Fon uncover the mystery surrounding his kidnapping. Their search leads them to terrible secrets surrounding the untouchable Genji clan who are said to be descendants of the Royal family. Going against central 46 orders to rescue Renji they might just cause the biggest clan war in the history of Soul Society.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Between Heaven and Hell Part 1**

**Pairing: Oc x Renji Eventual Ichigo x Renji**

**Themes: Mpreg, Slight Au, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance, Humor.**

**Summary: When Renji shows up in the human world covered in seals, after disappearing ten years ago, Ichigo, Byakuya, Yoruichi and Soi-Fon uncover the mystery surrounding his kidnapping. Their search leads them to terrible secrets surrounding the untouchable Genji clan who are said to be descendants of the Royal family. Going against central 46 orders to rescue Renji they might just cause the biggest clan war in the history of Soul Society.**

**Dedicated to my favorite Renji writers: Spunky0ne, Aliendroid, Junko, Lucymonster and SpiceyIceey.**

**Decided to write this since I am a huge Renji in distress fan XD**

**Happy New Year** **:)**

Chapter One

A portal opened and a man dressed in expensive black and silver silk kimono walked in, his beautiful tan skin contrasted with his long blood red hair tied in a low pony, his slim yet muscular and fit body made him look like akin to a god, his warm smile was friendly and inviting yet radiated power, his reddish brown eyes glistened with mischief.

He wandered around Karakura town, smiling to himself as he could still remember most of the buildings, as not much had changed even after a decade. Passing by a shop he looked at his reflection on the glass pane and thought about how much had changed since he was last here, he had definitely changed; he was no longer the loud, wild and rash lieutenant of the sixth squad, to be honest he didn't know what he was anymore, but he knew any ties he had to Seireitei was long gone and oddly enough he was okay with it, no one would get hurt that way.

Looking at his reflection again he couldn't help but frown at the changes; he was no longer as muscular as he was before, he was noticeably slimmer but fit and had lean muscles, Kami knows what would happen if he dared go out of shape. He was still deep in thought that he hadn't noticed a familiar face looking at him in surprise.

"Renji…?" Renji snapped out of his thoughts and turned to who had called his name. He laughed when he saw his old friend, his hair still as orange as ever.

"Ichigo, wow you look a bit different." He spoke gracefully. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Renji, he had ignored the fancy robes he was wearing and the longer hair, heck he could forget about how slim and almost feminine he looked, but he couldn't ignore how different Renji sounded, his voice wasn't deep and loud as it was a decade ago, his voice was soft and refined, his speech pattern had improved and the Renji in front of him could give Byakuya a run for is money in looking and acting like Nobility.

"I'm different? You look different, you sound different, I thought you were a girl at first." Ichigo yelled, he was surprised when Renji chuckled cutely in reply. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Renji wondering if he had been brainwashed and turned into some…. Well he wasn't behaving like the Renji he knew.

"Ah, so you have a thing for redheads?" Renji asked cheekily causing Ichigo to scowl. "Still easy to rile up as always strawberry." Ichigo glared at the old nickname causing Renji to laugh softly.

To be honest the whole thing was creeping Ichigo out. Renji was supposed to be loud, rash and fiery, not like he was now. He had been disturbed and angry when Renji and some low rank shinigami's suddenly went missing, he hated himself for not being able to protect himself, never mind that the said friend was a lieutenant and perfectly capable of protecting himself, two years later he was declared dead by the Sotaichō. Still he hadn't stopped looking for him; there were no clues, or hints as to what had happened and five years later the search had stopped altogether; yet here he was ten years after his disappearance, eight years after his supposed death. Ichigo wanted to both hug his friend and smack him at the same time, but while he was happy that Renji was alive he wasn't expecting him to change so drastically.

"Now Kurosaki, perhaps it would be best for you two to come and talk rather than standing outside." They both turned to the intruder and noticed Urahara standing; his stripped had covering his messy blonde hair and his fan covering his face. Despite the obstructions Ichigo could see the serious look in his eyes. Looking around Renji realized that he was indeed in front of Urahara's shop.

"Ah, didn't realize I was in front of your shop, I apologize." Renji gave a low bow in apology. Urahara frowned, he didn't like the way Renji was behaving, he was nothing like the young man he used to tease, the Renji in front of him was too polite, he looked so different, his posture was different, it was like looking at a nicer, redhead version of Byakuya or something. There was something black underneath the grey scarf around his neck and Urahara had an idea as to what it was.

-0-

"Renji where have you been? You just disappeared without saying anything." Ichigo all but yelled at his long lost friend, next to him was Urahara and Tessai. Urahara said nothing, watching Renji keenly trying to confirm his suspicions.

"Ichigo, I can't exactly tell you where I've been but I'm fine, sorry for the problems my disappearance had caused." Ichigo frowned, he hated this Renji. He was too polite too damned nice and had a soft voice and was everything Renji wasn't supposed to be.

"Stop it! What happened to you? Did someone do this to you?" Renji stiffened lightly but recovered immediately and covered it up by tilting his head slightly to the side and smiling mischievously; Ichigo might have missed his reaction to the accusation but Urahara hadn't.

"I'm offended Ichigo, and to think that few minutes ago you were checking me out." He replied cheekily, causing a light pink tint to creep up Ichigo's cheeks. "You're the first one to complain about how I look or act you know?" Ichigo frowned while Urahara sighed, his suspicions had been confirmed.

"Now Renji-san, perhaps you should tell us about the tracking collar on your neck." Renji stiffened visibly at the comment Ichigo's frown deepened as he hadn't known about the collar.

"What collar?" His eyes widened at the hint of black underneath Renji's scarf, he lunged at Renji and removed the soft grey scarf around his neck, exposing the black collar underneath. "What is this?" he asked in a barely restrained anger.

Renji sighed, he really shouldn't have come out of the palace, he had just wanted to get some fresh air, it was annoying being coped up _there_ for years, he hadn't thought that he might be recognized and he hadn't planned on coming to Urahara's shop. "Look, it doesn't matter. I should go." Standing up he prepared to leave but Ichigo wasn't about to let him disappear again and so grabbed his hand firmly preventing him from running away. "Look, it really isn't important."

"Like hell it isn't, you disappear for a decade and show up looking like Byakuya not that it doesn't suit you or anything, but that isn't the point. You suddenly disappear making everyone think you were dead and now here you are with a tracking collar on your neck and I get the feeling your new look is somehow connected." Renji grew uncomfortable, he really didn't like the tight grip Ichigo had on him or the fact that Ichigo was threading too close to events he didn't want anyone to get caught up in.

"Ichigo…" His voice was low and strained, his posture radiated discomfort and slight fear. "Please let go of my arm, you're hurting me." Urahara furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering why Renji was afraid of Ichigo's grip when he had been slashed by a Zanpakuto numerous times. Ichigo's thoughts were along the same direction as Urahara's, nevertheless he let go of Renji.

"Renji, what happened?" Renji opened his mouth to reply bit no words came out, he immediately closed his mouth, it was improper of someone of his status to be found gaping even though _he_ wasn't around. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Renji's behavior, his friend was acting weird and oddly defensive he was starting to get really worried.

"Nothing, can we not talk about it, please?" Urahara who had been quiet choosing to observe Renji rather ask questions was worried, he had noticed Renji's slight flinch when Ichigo had asked him what happened, as well as the fear in his voice when Ichigo held his hand, and he had also noticed Renji acting defensive as though he was somewhat afraid of them.

"Renji-san, would it be too far to assume that you have been subjected to some kind of torture." Renji stiffened noticeably and lost some color, to their annoyance Renji composed himself immediately acting as though nothing had happened. "Renji-san, we can't help you if you don't tell us what happened."

"You will not be helping him." A feminine voice interrupted followed by the sound of several people stomping around.

"Soi-Fon!"

"Sotaichō has ordered the arrest of Abarai Renji." She spoke, giving nothing away. Ichigo sprung up, angry at the sudden intrusion.

"What do you mean he is under arrest? He did nothing wrong, you can't just arrest him." Ichigo yelled, he couldn't believe his friend was being arrested for nothing. Soi-Fon however was starting to get irritated at Ichigo's interference.

"He is being arrested because we believe he might be related to the kidnapping and death of over thirty officers and nobles."

"What the hell? Renji hasn't done anything, why the hell wasn't I told about this I'm a captain too you know." Renji's eyes widened for a second at the fact that Ichigo was a captain but the look of shock was gone as quickly as it came. Deciding that their conversation would go nowhere he decided to speak.

"Ichigo relax she can't arrest me anyway." Soi-Fon turned from Ichigo to Renji rage clearly showing on her face at Renji's blatant refusal to his arrest.

"What do you mean I can't arrest you? Resisting arrest is a major crime Abarai Renji in case you have forgotten the rules?" Renji sighed loudly causing Soi-Fon's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

"Look, I'm not resisting arrest, I can't enter soul society. You can try but even with a private Senkaimon I still can't enter, believe me I've tried." Urahara frowned, it wasn't possible for Renji not to be able to enter soul society; from what he had noticed despite Renji's low to the point it was almost undetectable reiatsu, he wasn't wearing a Gigai. This meant that Renji should be able to enter soul society freely without restrictions unless there is a force field preventing his action.

Soi-Fon angry at Renji's resistance used her Zanpakuto to open a private Senkaimon, ignoring Ichigo's complaints, Renji sighed and walked towards the senkaimon to prove his point, he tried to walk in but there seemed to be some barrier or force preventing him from entering.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, I can't get into Soul Society."

The small captain frowned, clearly unhappy with the fact that her assignment was going to get complex, she couldn't understand why Renji couldn't get into Soul society. Ichigo on the other hand stared at Renji in disbelief, he hadn't actually expected Renji to be unable to get into Soul society and he could bet his captain salary that it had something to do with the tracker on his neck.

"Oi Renji, is the tracker what's preventing from getting into Soul society?" Ichigo asked. Renji sighed softly; he really didn't want to explain why he couldn't get in, however he had the feeling that if he didn't explain it Ichigo would pester him till he gave in.

"Urahara can you use the third forbidden kido, the unveiling spell."

"The use of the Forbidden Kido spells is illegal." Soi-Fon replied, the forbidden spell was forbidden for a reason.

Urahara ignored Soi-Fon's protest and began the incantation "Beast of the underworld, hiding in the darkness, with light show forth yourself and slit your necks Bakudo number 15 – Unveiling light" a bright light emitted from Urahara's palms and Renji was engulfed in a light yellow like bars, suddenly some seals on Renji appeared on his body, black bindings appeared on Renji's ankles and wrists. Urahara panting from exhaustion at the drain in his life force stared at the seals on Renji in disbelief, Ichigo and Soi-Fon gaped openly at the four seals on Renji's body. Ichigo's disbelief however quickly turned into anger.

"Who put those on you Renji!"

Renji smiled sadly, he was regretting coming to Karakura even though it was nice to see Ichigo and Urahara. "It doesn't matter anyway; I'll have to go back soon. It was nice meeting you guys though." His statement however only seemed to annoy Ichigo.

"What the hell do you mean you're going? I'm not letting you go back there. They put a tracker and four seals on you Renji there's no way I'm going to let you disappear for another ten years." Ichigo had barely finished talking when a portal suddenly appeared in front of Renji.

Renji smiled at Ichigo again, Ichigo really hated that smile it was defeated and forgiving instead of cocky and proud like Renji used to be. "Oi, you're not going anywhere you hear me."

"There is nothing you can do to help me Ichigo, Its nice knowing you care though." He replied with that smile that Ichigo had begun to hate. The bindings around Renji began to break, and the seals started to fade becoming invincible again as he headed towards the portal, he was stopped by Ichigo and Soi-Fon. "Ichigo, Soi-Fon –Taichou, Let go."

"I'm coming with you then."

"Urahara please try to convince Ichigo to stay back."

"Now now Renji-san, I can't do that he seems quite determined."

"Soi Fon –Taichou?"

"I have been ordered not to let you out of my sight, I'm coming along." Renji began to panic at the seriousness in their voice.

"You can't come with me, he'll kill you, please stay behind."

"Renji, who is he?" Before Renji could reply his body began moving on his own, heading to the portal despite Ichigo and Soi-Fon's grip on him effectively pulling them along albeit slowly.

"I can't tell you that Ichigo, please let go or I'm going to end up being late."

"I'm coming with you, there's nothing you can say to prevent it." Soi-Fon nodded in unison, she had a feeling that Renji was connected to the kidnapping and killings although not in the way they had initially assumed. Something told her he was one of the victims.

"Ichigo listen to me for once, If you enter there you might never come back."

"If that's the case then I'm not letting you go there." Renji groaned in frustration, he wondered if Ichigo had always been this stubborn.

"I have to go back Ichigo, I have no choice."

"Renji, we are coming with you and that's final." Soi-Fon once again nodded in agreement.

"Ichigo, I'm sure you have better things to do than get yourself into trouble." Urahara and Soi-Fon frowned at Renji persistence.

"Abarai Renji, we would be going with you and that is final." Soi-Fon commanded dragging all three of them into the Portal. Urahara watched them and at the close of the portal he turned to Tessai who had been silent throughout the whole ordeal.

"It seems we'll have to send a message to Yoruichi, I get the feelings we're going to have a major crisis on our hands soon. Tessai nodded silently in response.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm still looking for a Beta for this series, my uncompleted stories as well as for my upcoming stories. The upcoming series would contain BDSM, Exhibitionism and voyeurism, Cross dressing, slight drug use, Role playing, Latex and toys…etc. And this series would contain drug use, non-con (I'll try to keep it mild), Mpreg, slight dementia and other themes some might find uncomfortable. I do hope whoever is interested in becoming my beta is okay with these. The complete plot, as well as the summary for the scenes in each chapter for this series and the upcoming series has been written.**

**XD**

Chapter Two

A portal suddenly opened, Ichigo and Soi-Fon found themselves thrust into a different world, before they had a chance to react to the sudden ejection the portal disappeared. Looking around the two captains realized that they weren't in Soul society or Hueco Mundo, heck it wasn't even hell, they were in who knows where in front of a huge white palace that reminded them too much of Las Noches.

"Renji-sama you're back!" A small black haired male with freckles on his cheeks ran towards Renji, checking for signs of Injuries. "You're safe, I'm so glad. Master would be angry if you got injured." Renji smiled at him and patted his head affectionately.

"Taka-chan I'm okay, although we're gonna have a bit of problem." He flickered towards Ichigo and Soi-Fon, there was an awkward silence as Takahiro hadn't noticed the two shinigami's with Renji.

"Ano Renji-sama, I don't think Master is going to be pleased with your guests."

Ichigo and Soi-Fon were starting to get irritated, the annoying kid hadn't even noticed their presence till Renji pointed it out, Ichigo wondered how it was that the kid hadn't noticed him, he had bright orange hair for crying out loud, he wasn't exactly the most subtle person and it was impossible for someone not to notice him.

"I know, I tried to talk them out of coming with me. Koji is going to be angry."

"I'm glad you know me so well My Love." Came a calm voice from behind them; neither Ichigo nor Soi-Fon missed the way Renji suddenly froze. "So My Love, care to tell me why you brought uninvited guests into our home? You know I don't like surprises."

The calm voice came from a tall brown haired male with mysterious gold eyes who had on a friendly smile, he was built slightly bigger than Ichigo, there was something about him that made Ichigo reach to Zangetsu, Even Soi Fon was posed in a defensive stance. Even though the man apparently named Koji, the 'Master' of the palace seemed somewhat friendly there was something dark and dangerous about him that made Ichigo and Soi-Fon feel uneasy, and Judging from Renji's stiff posture and the fear in the kid's eyes they were right to be weary of him.

Koji simply looked at the two in scrutiny, the smile still on his face and turned his gaze to Renji. Despite his soft and almost loving gaze, Renji looked uncomfortable. Ichigo frowned at the man and stood in front of Renji to protect him, his action however annoyed Koji.

"Get away from MY HUSBAND, little brat."

Ichigo blinked in confusion, realization hit him when he realized that Koji called Renji his husband, he was about to retort when Renji spoke.

"Ichigo, it's okay." Ichigo frowned and placed a hand on Renji's shoulder.

Koji glared at Ichigo's hand on his Renji, he most definitely did not like another man touching his spouse least of all some orange haired brat,

"Little brat, it would be best for you to unhand MY husband this instant, I am quite possessive. Right my love?" He asked turning from Ichigo to Renji, the look of contempt slowly changed to what looked like affection at he stared at Renji.

Renji fidgeted under Koji's gaze, he tried to think of a way to prevent upsetting Koji yet at the same time protect Ichigo and Soi-Fon. "Ichigo, listen to him." Koji smiled.

"So my love, you still haven't told me to what we owe this surprise. I doubt this is an early anniversary gift."

Soi-Fon looked sicken at Koji's last comment, she really didn't want to know what he meant by 'gift'. Several alarm bells were going off in her head in warning; she had the feelings she had really messed up this time, she choose to stay silent though.

"They really didn't mean to come here, I'm sure it was all a mistake, please let them go." Renji pleaded, he knew the odds of Koji actually letting them go were slim to none, but nevertheless he had to try.

Ichigo scowled at Renji's pleadings, there was no way he was going to leave Renji here alone with this creepy man. "Like hell I'm leaving you here with him Renji." Soi-Fon however neither said nor made any action to show she supported or opposed Ichigo's words, she simply watched Koji cautiously.

"Not to worry Brat, I have no intention of letting Intruders come and go as they please on my property. Think of it as a warning to the rest."

Renji paled at his husband's words, he knew what would happen to them if Koji kept them here, while he had survived the _tests_ he wasn't sure they would and frankly he didn't want them to go through the same things he did.

"Oh Kami, please don't do anything to them, it was my fault I shouldn't have dragged them with me." Renji pleaded.

Without taking his eyes off Ichigo and Soi-Fon Koji replied calmly, his voice held a hint of annoyance. "I see; it would seem I haven't trained you well enough, you would have to be punished for such defiance. It wouldn't do for someone of my stature to have his spouse running wild now, would it?" Renji's face lost his color while Ichigo's face contorted in rage, Soi-Fon tried to act impassive but her disgust and slight fear was somewhat obvious. "Not to worry my Love, they would make excellent test subjects, I would be sure to thank you for the gift, should the experiments be successful."

Ichigo's patience snapped and he grabbed Zangetsu ready to unleash Getsuga Tenshō, but was stopped by a panic stricken Renji.

"Ichigo don't!" Renji yelled. Koji however didn't as much as twitch at Ichigo's attempted attack, he did however smirk at Ichigo's barely restrained anger as Renji tried to calm him down. Turning to Soi-Fon he looked at her in contempt and sighed.

"I really am not a fan of women, they aren't useful for much, but I'm sure you would be of use somehow." Soi-Fon didn't respond to his taunt, remaining impassive… almost impassive her left eye twitched repeatedly in anger. Putting on a fake contemplating look he continued his taunts "You look so small, I would have mistaken you for a child. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with you, perhaps I should let the guards have their way with you, they are terribly underpaid." Soi-Fon snapped.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi." Her sword transformed to its Shikai state as she launched towards him, ignoring Renji's protests. Using shunpo she aimed her stinger at his chest and was surprise when she felt a burst of pain soar through her body, her body became too heavy and her legs gave way, her sight suddenly become blurry and she faded into darkness.

"SOI-FON!"

-0-

Urahara was a man who was patient, rarely frustrated and hardly ever panicked, he had seen lots of terrible things but he had never seen anything like the seal on Renji before. Even the use of his life force had only been able to make the seals temporarily visible, placing one of those seals on a person was almost impossible much less four. He had done some research after they had left and based on the little he had observed and what limited information he had discovered, it would require the spirit centers of three individuals with high reiatsu, preferably captain level. The spirit centers of three captain level hollows might also work, although Urahara didn't have anything to base that hypothesis on.

He wondered why whoever had done that placed such seal on Renji, sure the redhead was a captain level shinigami ten years ago, that really wasn't a reason to place four seals on him, something was amiss and it was obviously something very dangerous. He couldn't help the thrill that crept down his spine; it had been centuries since he was this excited.

"Kisuke, we have to tell soul society about this." Yoruichi spoke behind him, her voice low and filled with concern. She was in her human form clad in her usual orange overshirt.

"I know, it just doesn't add up. I'm curious as to why _they_ would go through all that measures simply to make sure he doesn't escape. We don't even know who _they_ are or what _they_ want, and considering the seals on Renji _they_ must be trying to protect something big, what it is I have no idea."

"Given that Ichigo and Soi-Fon went along with him, it would be safe to say they are also in danger. Soul society will not take the disappearance of two captains lightly. Besides if it took ten years before Renji could come back, then we have no idea how long it would take for them to come back… assuming they are still alive." Urahara nodded in agreement.

-0-

The sudden disappearance of the reiatsu of two captains raised a lot of concern in Gotei 13, and given that one of the captains was the newly appointed Shiba heir their disappearance was top priority among both the Gotei 13 and the Noble clans. Due to the incidents priority, secrecy was advised and thus the only ones aware of the situation were the captains and lieutenants of the 13 squads.

Soi-Fon had left when a reiatsu similar to the former lieutenant of squad six had suddenly appeared in Karakura town, the reiatsu was low and faint but Kurotsuchi had been able to identify it. Given the suspected connection Renji had to the missing shinigami's and nobles, thus his arrest was top priority. Ichigo's presence however was completely unexpected and purely coincidental.

Yoruichi's presence in Seireitei was met with mixed reactions given the fact that most of the times she was around there seemed to be a major crisis underway, it wasn't very surprising that immediately after her appearance a captains meeting was called.

"Ichigo, Soi-Fon and Renji are no longer in the living world, according to Kisuke a portal suddenly opened and they went in." She stated, and judging from the looks on their face, the captains were already aware of the disappearance.

"Could they perhaps be in Hueco Mundo?" Asked Ukitake, he was ever the optimist.

"Giving that it wasn't a _garganta_ that opened but a sort of private portal similar to a senkaimon I doubt their destination was Hueco Mundo."

"What about Renji, what information was Urahara able to extort from him concerning the kidnappings." Byakuya asked, he was however met with silence.

"Yoruichi?"

"He had a tracker on his neck as well as four invincible seals on his wrists and ankles, the seals were only made temporarily visible by the use of one of the forbidden kido spells, when the portal opened the spell however shattered." Their reactions as expected were gasps, looks of shock and worry. "Kisuke suspects that whoever put those on Renji is trying to prevent him from either running a way or spilling some secret."

"How strong were the seals?" Ukitake asked again.

"Each seal is made of the spirit centers of three individuals of high reiatsu, preferably captain level. Kisuke thinks that not only shinigami spirit centers can be used." ' _Hollows could also be used'_ was left unsaid but greatly implied. Several captains frowned at the disturbing information, Kutotsuchi however grinned crazily.

-0-

Among the four great Noble clans, Genji clan held the highest authority, they were said to originate from the soul king himself instead of from his garden like the other three. The 30th head of the clan Genji Seiichi was known for his unwavering loyalty, intelligence and patience, he had earned the position as clan head though years of service to the clan since he was a mere child, it was true that the position originally belonged to his cousin and he knew there were still several elders who would not hesitate to take away his position despite how much he had done for his clan.

Seiichi had long stopped trying to figure out why it was that his own clan seemed to prefer his cousin over him when logically he was the better choice, under his leadership the Genji clan had forged better relationship and ties with other Noble clans, even with those of lower Aristocratic or Noble class as compared to them, he had also sponsored thirty peasants from the worst parts of Rukongai into the academy to make them Shinigami's or part of the Kido corps. He had earned the right to be called one of the greatest leaders of the Genji clan, yet what had his cousin done? Compared to him, his cousin had done nothing, yet the elders seemed to favor him simply because he of was half blood.

It irked him that despite the fact that they had long accepted half bloods in the clan, there still seemed to be some discrimination among those of 'his kind', never mind that their leader was also half blood and had dedicated his whole life to making sure that the clan remained at the top. Looking at the letter in front of him he couldn't help but frown at the blatant disrespect. He had been given six months to either produce an heir, get a new wife or abdicate his position as head of the family to his cousin. It was both insulting and humiliating and he was going to get to the bottom of this. He wasn't going to let a bunch of old coots tell him how to run his life, he had worked hard for their respect and approval and it was about time they learn who was the leader.

-0-

The prison cell was dark, damp and smelt of urine, vomit, semen and blood, a disgusting combination causing the air to become revolting. In it were the two missing captains; of the two Ichigo looked better off than Soi-Fon, the small Squad Two captain was looking worse for wear and it had been just two days since she suddenly collapsed after her attempted attack on Koji.

Ichigo had gone over the whole scene over and over again, trying to figure out what had caused her to suddenly collapse, yet he came up with nothing. Koji hadn't even touched her; she just went down on her own. She hadn't woken up since she collapsed and Koji hadn't bothered with trying to help her, the last thing Ichigo had seen before his legs suddenly gave out and his reiatsu threatened to suffocate him was Koji smirking… that bastard.

Ichigo had woken up and found himself in the cell, Zangetsu and Suzumebachi were nowhere to be found… it wasn't like he had expected the bastard to leave their Zanpakuto with them in the cell. There were no handcuffs or any form of bindings on them; in fact the cell was relatively large and big enough for him to stretch his legs a bit. For some reason the closer he got to the iron rods surrounding the cells the weaker he got, it seemed as though his own reiatsu would rise and try to suffocate him… it was kinda scary.

He looked at the figure breathing heavily next to him, her reiatsu was so low it could barely be felt, he had tried infusing her with his reiatsu to stabilize her. His actions had only made him dizzy, it also made her low reiatsu suddenly rise and spike violently, had tried again and had gotten the same result. Ichigo noticed that they weren't the only prisoners in the cell, the other prisoners were either unconscious or semi-unconscious and looked liked they had been here for at least a couple weeks. There were five others prisoners, all were males and for some freaky reason all five of them had bright red hair, and no it wasn't natural like Renji's it was obviously dyed… It was VERY creepy and Ichigo got the feeling the Koji guy had a thing for Redheads.

Speaking of Redheads, ever since their arrival in who knows where, after their attempted attack on the bastard, Ichigo hadn't seen Renji and he was getting worried. Everything about the creepy bastard rubbed Ichigo off the wrong way and knowing that his friend was with the bastard only made him more frustrated and angry. It frustrated him to think that Renji had been here for ten years, suffering thanks to some redhead obsessed maniac with mysterious powers, he was starting to understand why Renji kept insisting they didn't come with him and why he seemed so panicked. Despite all that he didn't regret trying to save his friend, he knew he would get out of here somehow and free his friend, it was just a matter of finding out how and when.

A tap on the iron bars dragged Ichigo out of his musings; he turned to the source of the disturbance ready to send his deadliest glare to whoever had interrupted his thoughts, the glare softened when he saw it wasn't some stupid guard but his friend.

"Renji!"

"Hey." Renji turned to the unconscious figure of the 2nd squad captain. "She still hasn't woken up huh?" His voice was soft and filled with concern and hurt. Fiddling with his Kimono he brought out a small bottle, he lowered his voice till it was barely a whisper and spoke. "Here's the antidote, she should wake up after a few minutes and her reiatsu would stabilize a bit." Ichigo quickly yet discretely grabbed the bottle and hid it, he got the feeling that Renji was being watched and was taking a lot of risks by giving him the antidote.

"I'm sorry." His voice was still low and Ichigo barely registered the apology.

"Huh"

"I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this." Renji apologized, his head bent to avoid Ichigo's gaze.

"Renji…" Ichigo's voice was soft and affectionate, which caused Renji to face him and was surprised by the caring look on his friends face. "It wasn't your fault, the fucking bastard kidnapped you and who knows what he did to you, It doesn't matter I'll still get you out of here."

"The more you stay here, the lesser your chances of leaving Ichigo, don't worry about me I'll get you guys out of here somehow." He replied with a sad smile.

"What about you?"

"I've been here for years; I'm used to it now." Looking over his shoulder, he saw a guard approaching them. "I have to go; Koji is probably looking for me. See you later, and send my apologies to Soi-Fon Taichou."


	3. The Escape I

**CHAPTER THREE** : _The Escape_

Noble council had suddenly found out about the disappearance, and had shown up in Seireitei demanding to see Ichigo just a day after the incident. The fact that they knew about the disappearance so suddenly was suspicious. However, what was even more suspicious was the fact that they had known about Renji's involvement in the disappearance, as well as Important information about the previous kidnapped victims… Information no one knew except for a few captains.

The Nobles weren't the only ones who had barged into Seireitei demanding Ichigo's return; relatives of the previous victims had also found out about the disappearance and had accused Gotei 13 of with-holding vital information on the whereabouts of their lost ones. A few seated officers had come back severely injured after being attacked by concerned relatives. The attacks didn't stop but instead escalated and had almost cost the life of the Byakuya's third seat.

Seireitei wasn't the only ones affected by the mob of concerned relatives and Nobles, those who had with access to a senkaimon connected to the living world had arrived at Urahara Shōten to question the shop keeper. They had however immediately ceased their protests and returned to Soul Society after Tessai came out of the shop to greet them.

Tension hung thickly in the air as the Kuchiki clan and the Shiba clan, sat in the Noble council hall. Kuchiki Rukia had been invited to the meeting to answer some questions about her 'friend', as she was the closest to the Shiba heir and such was expected to know a few details about Ichigo in order to aid the ongoing investigation surrounding his disappearance. The meeting however had proven to be a waste and Rukia had been immediately dismissed as she had been unable to provide them with any information about Ichigo's disappearance.

"Rukia, I'm sure he is fine." A calm voice spoke from behind startling her.

"Nii-sama."

Byakuya walked gracefully to her side and patted her affectionately on the head. "No one blames you for his disappearance Imouto."

"I'm supposed to be his best friend, yet I don't know much about him. I didn't even know he was in the living world."

Byakuya sighed... As much of a sigh as one could get from him anyway. He really wasn't good at comforting others; usually Ichigo was the one who comforted her. It wasn't as though he didn't try, or that he didn't want to, it was that whenever he tried to comfort or sooth her, the action came out awkward.

"It's not your fault that you were not informed on his whereabouts, it is impossible to know where he is all the time. You both have responsibilities to see to, it is therefore expected that you cannot always be with each other all the time." Rukia nodded slowly in understanding.

"Do you think he is okay?"

"He is with Soi-Fon Taichō, besides judging from Yoruichi's assessment I doubt Abarai would let any harm come to him."

"Yea, Renji won't let anything happen to Ichigo." Her voice was weak and it sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.

"He would be fine, he has survived worse. He and Soi-Fon Taichō would think of something."

-0-

Koji was angry, scratch that he was furious and hurt. He had discovered from one of his spies that Renji had gone to visit the orange haired brat, and even worse was that the two were acting overly familiar with each other. At first he hadn't believed the guard, but he believed him when the poor man had sworn on his life and had clumsily told Koji that if he discovered that it was a lie he would accept execution. What hurt the most was that Renji didn't even deny any of the accusations.

Renji stalked into the room silently, he knew there was no point as Koji was probably already in the room angry beyond proportions. He had years of experience on the wrath of Koji's anger and while he knew he could have prevented it, he simply could not abandon Ichigo and Soi-Fon, besides he knew exactly what Koji had done to Soi-Fon and he knew that without the antidote her spirit centers could be permanently damaged.

"You really did go to see him didn't you?" Koji asked, his voice was cold yet filled with hurt. Renji's silence only served to make him more furious, he finally snapped and Renji yanked to the bed. Renji didn't struggle; he knew it was futile, he knew what was coming next.

Koji held up short sword, it began to glow red activating the seals on Renji's wrist and ankles. Renji screamed in agony at the pain, he felt as though his body was on fire while his joints felt as though they were being pulled apart. His spirit centers were invaded by tainted reiatsu which was slowly suffocating him. The pain was overwhelming and he began to feel numb yet fully conscious.

"I really don't like doing this to you, you know. It hurts me when I hurt you… I keep trying my best to make you happy and to make sure you're well behaved yet you keep turning into a rabid dog. I guess that's one of the things I love about you, you're so full of passion I can't help but love you more and more everyday." He gently wiped away the tears falling down Renji's face "I have to punish you, I don't want to but I have to, you understand don't you?" He whispered softly stroking Renji's hair affectionately. "I really do love you, you're my greatest invention." Renji couldn't scream, or move, all he could do was stare though the tears streaming down his face.

"I hate the way that little brat touched you." His voice rose higher and higher till he was yelling. "You are mine! You belong to me, every inch of you, he can't have you." His voice suddenly grew soft "Why can't you understand me, why can't you understand that all I want is for you to be happy… for us to be happy. Promise me you'll be good." Renji tried to nod or make a noise but his body refused to comply, he inwardly began to panic knowing that his lack of response would only make Koji angrier.

"I, see." His voice cold and cruel. "You'd rather have some tiny girl and some brat rather than me; your husband, is that it?" Renji didn't respond "ANSWER ME NOW." He yelled, Renji could only whimper in fright.

"You keep making me seem like the bad guy, please stop being afraid of me." Koji voice became soft and pleading. "I won't hit you, I won't hurt you intentionally, everything I've done is to make our family perfect. You, me and Miki, we're one big family you know? I love you more than anything, more than Takao. He wasn't like you; he doesn't get me like you do. He doesn't tolerate me like you do. It hurt me when you left, I felt like you were going to leave me, I don't want you to leave me, I love you too much to lose you, please say something my love." Renji blinked back the tears, trying his best to reassure Koji but his body wasn't responding, he could barely breathe much less move, but he knew Koji would take his silence the wrong way and Kami-sama knows what he would do to him this time.

"You don't want me back because of the brat, is that it? You don't love me anymore because of some kid? Who is he to you? ANSWER ME NOW RENJI!"

Without waiting for an answer Koji grabbed Renji's hair and pulled him into a deep kiss, ignoring the pleas in his husband's teary eyes. He broke the kiss and walked towards the dresser only to drop the glowing sword much to Renji's relief. The glint in his eyes as he walked back to the still numb redhead made a chill run down his spine, Renji's fears were confirmed when Koji suddenly flipped him so he was on his back. His expensive red robes were forcefully removed; as Koji's hands explored his body.

"Please… stop." Renji pleaded weakly, his body was still numb but he was starting to regain his speech. Koji ignored his pleas, kissing and caressing his body. He traced the tattoos, placing kisses as he trailed down. Renji tried to protest; he tried to wiggle free from Koji, but had ended up getting pinned down.

Suddenly Koji got off Renji, causing the redhead relief. It was short lived when he walked back to the dresser but instead of picking up the short sword he had left there earlier, he opened one of the drawers and brought out a bottle of lube. Renji paled, he begged his body to respond so he could escape this nightmare, he ended up falling off the bed and landed with a soft thud… That definitely hurt.

Koji chuckled at the sight of his husband on the floor having obviously tried to escape, he gracefully walked towards him and carried him bridal style only do dump him back on the bed.

"Shh, relax my love. No need to be shy, we have consummated our marriage numerous times. And I had assumed you had gotten used to this, instead of shying away every time I try to pleasure you."

-0-

Immediately after Renji left the prison, Ichigo scurried to where Soi-Fon laid. He looked at the antidote and back to the unconscious captain, the antidote wasn't much, and would probably only be able to revive Soi-Fon and one or two other prisoners.

He quickly opened the bottle, and with one hand he adjusted Soi-Fon placing her head on his laps and opened her mouth slightly. He poured a little in to the bottle cap and poured the portion in the cap down her throat. He immediately closed the bottle and then turned to the unconscious inmates, wondering which one or two he would be able to revive.

Twenty minutes later Soi-Fon groaned, snapping Ichigo from his daydreams. The first thing she registered was that her head was pounding, despite the headache she noticed that her head was on something somewhat soft. She opened her eyes and was met with concerned brown eyes, sat up immediately and groaned when the pain in her head spiked.

"Hey relax." She relaxed visibly, and looked around taking in their surroundings while massaging her forehead to ease the drumming in her head.

"Where are we?" Her voice came out dry and scratchy and made Ichigo wince.

"The bastard threw us in here; you've been out for two maybe three days." Despite her partially closed eye, he could note the slight widening of her eyes.

"How did you revive me?" Her voice held an edge of suspicion

"Hey I didn't do anything to you if that's what you meant; Renji showed up an hour or so ago and gave me some drug to revive you."

Suddenly the stench of the cell hit her, and she felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. Her face turned pale and slightly green and Ichigo panicked.

"Shit! What's wrong? Hey answer me… shit don't collapse again."

"Your voice is making me feel worse than I already do." Ichigo scowled at the small captain.

"Hey, I was just being concerned, we aren't the only ones here and so far I've been the only one awake. It's really boring being the only one conscious."

Soi-Fon took a moment to look at their cell thoroughly, ignoring the repulsive odor of the cell. She blanched at the sight of their 'cellmates' who were unconscious and were barely breathing, she did not miss the fact that all five of them had blatantly fake red hair and slightly faded tattoos that was probably at one point a replica of Renji's. She subconsciously wondered if her hair would also be dyed.

"What information have you been able to get so far?"

"Nothing, except that the bastard has a thing for Redheads." Soi-Fon glared at him. "Renji said that he'll get us out of here somehow, he said the more we stay here the lesser our chances of ever getting outta here." Flickering his thumb lazily to the unconscious bodies behind them he continued. "And they have been like that since I got here, so far the bastard hasn't visited. I still have some of the antidote Renji gave me, was waiting for you to wake up so we revive them and get some information about the bastard." She nodded her head in agreement

"How was Abarai's behavior when he visited?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Soi-Fon's question; Soi-Fon however sensed his displeasure and elaborated. "His behavior can give us some information which might be valuable at some point."

Ichigo scowled but understood "I don't know, he was speaking quietly but that was probably because of the guards, he was kinda nervous, and he refused to look me in the eye." Soi-Fon detected a hint of hurt in the last statement but decided not to say anything. "He was kinda fidgety too; I don't think he told the bastard he was visiting." Soi-Fon once again nodded in agreement.

"It would be best if we interrogated them." Her eyes indicating the unconscious bodies behind them. "They might know a few things about where we are and what goes on here."

The two captains made way to the five unconscious cellmates; Soi-Fon wrinkled her nose in disgust while Ichigo pinched his nose as they approached the unconscious men. Ignoring the repulsing smell coming from the unconscious men they tried to revive the more responsive of the five, unfortunately three of the men had no pulse and were dead. Using the last of the antidote they were able to revive the remaining two, sadly their situation was more dire than they had anticipated and given their current situation they would barely make it past three days.

The only information they had been able to extort was that, they had been taken to a white room, and operated on, and when they woke up, their body felt different, after a couple days their health began to deteriorate and there body started shutting down, they were also taken to a salon and underwent a makeover in which their hair color was changed, their legs and arms were shaved and they were forced into women's kimono.

-0-

Koji rarely left the Palace, and when he did it usually lasted a short time, the longest he had been away was a week, and he had of course taken preventive measures to make sure Renji didn't do anything stupid. He had left for a mandatory clan meeting, and would be gone for a couple days. It was the perfect opportunity to get Ichigo and Soi-Fon away from this hellish place, He had so much to do and had so limited time, but despite that he was determined to get them out of here.

A light tap on the steel bars drew Soi-Fon and Ichigo's attention, on recognizing who it was Ichigo scurried towards the bars.

"Renji!"

"Hey" Gesturing to Soi-Fon he added. "You're awake, that's good."

"Thank you for the antidote." Soi-Fon replied, walking towards the two men. She took the time to really look at Renji and noted the changes in the redhead. His posture was different, his hair was longer almost at his waist, it was no longer rough, bristle and spiky as it used to be; this time it looked soft and silky and it was obviously very well cared for with the best haircare products. His hair wasn't the only changes the former lieutenant had undergone, he was dressed in expensive red and black kimono that most definitely cost more than a captain's salary for a year, His body was slimmer than it was a decade ago but Soi-Fon would bet that underneath the bulky robes were some muscles. She was snapped out of her observation when Renji spoke; his voice was velvety, refined and alluring. Everything about the former Lieutenant screamed 'Nobility'

"No problem." Fiddling with the sleeves of his expensive maroon kimono, he brought out a small key and discreetly placed it in Ichigo's palms. "Here"

"What's this?"

"The key to the cell."

Soi-Fon furrowed her brows in concern. "And how did you get it?"

"Koji would be away for a couple days, I've made some plans to get you guys out of there before he comes." Renji replied, evading Soi-Fon's question.

"What about you?"

"Soi-Fon Taichō I'm bounded to this place, I can't leave without his permission. But you guys can, give me a few days to prepare some things and you'll be free." Renji replied Politely with a smile.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Ichigo protested but was smacked on the head By Soi-Fon.

"Baka, this might be the only chance we have. When we get out of here we can have a captains meeting and discuss getting Renji out of here." Renji smiled sadly in response.

-0-

The Prisons were dark and the only light were from the guard stations, in the midst of the darkness, a low tap on the metal bars was heard.

"Ichigo-dono, Taichō-dono Are you awake?" A small squeaky voice asked.

Ichgo and Soi-Fon slowly walked towards the source of the familiar voice, and despite the darkness they could recognize him as the annoying kid who ignored them when they arrived at the weird palace. Takahiro smiled in relief at the fact that Renji's friends were awake and probably still in one piece.

"Renji-sama has arranged for your escape, we only have thirty minutes to leave but I'm sure will be fine." The two captains could practically see the kid's beam of optimism. "Renji-sama says you have the key to the locks." Takahiro whispered, despite the darkness he could see Ichigo nodding in response.

Fiddling with locks, Ichigo managed to open them without creating too much noise. Rushing back into the smelly cell Ichigo and Soi-fon each carried one of the unconscious victims much to Takahiro's confusion.

In the dark they all stealthily crept down the hall avoiding attracting the attention of the guards and other prisoners. Unfortunately they bumped into a figure; which was most probably a guard. Before Takahiro could scream in fright the figure quickly covered his mouth and whispered.

"Relax, its Jerry. Renji-sama told me to assist you guys."

"And why are you helping him?" Ichigo whispered back, his voice laced with suspicion.

"I owe Renji-sama a favor, I'm simply repaying him back. We have less than twenty minutes more, I suggest we hurry up." Without waiting for a reply he moved with a technique similar to flash-step, and took the unconscious body Soi-Fon was carry and easy placed the prisoner on his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

They continue their journey and in less than thirty minutes they were in front of a huge gate guarded by a muscled giant. The gatekeeper wordlessly nodded and opened the gate.

"T...Thank you, Dai-dono."Takahiro stuttered with a bow.

"I'm doing this for Renji-sama, little guy." The huge gatekeeper responded with a smile.

Few seconds after they passed through the gate they felt a familiar reiatsu.

"Shit!"

"Master is back!"Takahiro whispered, his body visibly shaking in fear. Jerry however sprung into action and quickly placed a small black bracelet like thing in their hands.

"Quick put this on, it masks your reiatsu, and we should be able to hide in one of the caves in the outskirts, hurry."

They all snapped into action and placed the bracelet on their wrists, all except Takahiro who was still shaking in fear. Soi-Fon quickly placed his bracelet on his wrist for him. And they all ran in to the vast seemingly empty land, filled with rocks, trees and hills. An hour later they came towards a small cave big enough for them to hide for the night. As they hid in the cave Jerry casted a spell similar to kido to conceal their presence and make the cave invincible to most.

"Why are we hiding in a cave instead of leaving here, explain!" Soi-Fon demanded.

"Koji-sama, is very smart and I get the feeling he knows Renj-sama was up to something. He has probably already ordered your death. Bedsides the nearest portal is at least five hours ago, we don't have the energy to run for five hours, we don't have a plan or resources. If we run aimlessly right now we will no doubt be captured and Kami knows what he would do to us." Jerry explained patiently.

"Fine, we leave in the next six hours." SoI-Fon ordered.

They all nodded in agreement.


	4. The Escape II

**CHAPTER FOUR:** _The Escape II_

In soul society, Ikkaku grinned maniacally as his head gleamed in the sunlight almost sparking; Yumichika raised a perfectly manicured and feathered eyebrow.

"Ikkaku, I know that smile. What trouble are we getting ourselves into this time?" Yumichika asked nonchalantly. Things had been tense since the disappearance of the two captains, surprisingly most people had claimed that they were kidnapped by Renji, but the two squad 11 officers knew better. They weren't sure what exactly Renji's involvement with the disappearance was, but they knew there was more to the disappearance than others were letting on.

"We are going Karakura." Ikkaku replied, his grin still in place.

-0-

"Hello, My love." Koji greeted as he walked into their bedroom. Renji froze, trying to figure out why his husband was back so soon. "You don't look happy to see me Renji."

"I'm just surprised, how was the meeting?" Renji asked coolly. Despite his relaxed composure, his was panicking mentally, wondering if Ichigo and Soi-Fon had already escaped.

"What are you thinking about my love?" Koji asked, His voice held a tint of smugness Renji was sure he didn't imagine.

"Nothing, just wondering when I'll meet your family. You never let me meet them." Renji replied with fake venom in his words, knowing it was a subject guaranteed to keep Koji busy for at least an hour; hopefully Ichigo and co. would have gotten far away from this hell.

Koji sighed in defeat, wondering why this topic always came up whenever he went for one of the Clan meetings.

"I know you want to meet my family, and I really do want you to meet them it's just that there is a lot going on, and it's not really a good time."

"Am I important to you?"

"Of course you are my love."

"So why is it never a good time when I want to meet them, do they even know I exist?! Do they even know you have a husband and a daughter?" Renji replied, his voice increasing with each sentence. Koji sighed in defeat and began mentally planning how to change the topic.

-0-

The cave was cramped and stuffy, and despite the fact that there were six of them in the small cave it was unexpectedly cold. The atmosphere was tense and there were so many unanswered questions, Questions that needed to be answered; the kidnapping case from a decade ago was obviously bigger than Gotei 13 had assumed. Renji's involvement in the whole thing was starting to come into view; it was definitely not what they had assumed.

Almost a decade ago during the time of Renji's disappearance, which coincidentally was around the same time several nobles went missing, some evidence was found incriminating Renji and linking him to the crime. However before an arrest could be made, the lieutenant had suspiciously vanished. Of course most of the lieutenants, and offices who were close to the redhead had firmly protested the allegations against him, claiming that Renji was not involved and the whole thing had to be an elaborate set-up. As there was no evidence saying otherwise, Renji remained the prime suspect.

Sitting in the small cave, Soi-Fon couldn't help but think that they had been wrong the whole time. They were looking at it the wrong way. What exactly was happening she didn't know, but it was definitely something big. Sighing aloud she decided to ask her questions but was beat to it by Ichigo who could no longer contain his frustrations.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

"Ichigo-dono, you would have to elaborate, if you mean what is going on here, as you can see we are hiding for a few hours to…" Jerry was cut off by the sudden flare of Ichigo's reiatsu. "Ichigo-dono, please do not do that; we are trying to hide from Koji-sama, not play a game of hide and seek."Ichigo controlled his reiatsu but the look on his face promised bloody murder.

The killing intent in the atmosphere was starting to scare Takahiro so he decided to Placate Ichigo by telling him the few things he knew.

"Ano, Ichigo-dono I can tell you what I know. Please don't kill Jerry-dono." Takahiro squeaked in fright.

Ichigo dropped the glare and nodded at the small man to continue.

"Well I don't know much, just the rumors the maids and guards tell and the ones Renji-sama tells me." Takahiro paused, not wanting them to get their hopes up and expect a lot from him. Soi-Fon nodded in understanding.

"Well, some years ago, me and some other kids from Rukon district were brought here, we were promised food and money. You see we were barely surviving and we weren't strong like other kids who knew how to fight for food, or smart enough steal, the only way we fed was through the Oji-san that would pay us to stay with his customers at the brothel, and it was scary sometimes to so we agreed. When we got here Jiroh-sama, ordered the attendants to clean and make us presentable for Master. After we bathed, changed into good clothes and ate some food, we were told to line up for Master and his husband to see us. That was the first time I met Renji-sama." Takhiro paused, his eyes glistened as he remembered the first time he met his hero. His fanboy smile was interrupt by a chuckle from Jerry.

"Gomenasai, Well among all of us Renji-sama choose me and Yuki-chan." Takahiro's smile slowly morphed into a sad longing look. "Anyway, those who were not choosen were taking away. Yuki-chan and I asked Renji–sama where the ladies were taken to but he told us not to stick our noses where it wasn't supposed to be. Yuki-chan was always too smart for his own good, he decided to find out where the others were, we thought maybe their job was better than ours. So he planned to find out where they were taken to, I wanted to go with him but he refused and asked me to cover for him incase Renji-sama asked of him. He didn't come back that night, after two days and he still wasn't back I panicked and Renji-sama knew something was wrong, so I told him everything. I've never seen Renji-sama so angry and worried as he was then. He went somewhere for a while and when he came back, he was holding Yuki-chan. Yuki-chan looked so pale and sickly, we tried to wake him up but he… he wasn't… Yuki-chan didn't even move. He didn't even answer me when I begged him to wake up… Renji-sama tried to revive him but… Yuki-chan didn't answer. I think I collapsed, when I woke up, Renji-sama was beside me taking care of my fever, I asked him about Yuki-chan and he told me he… he said Yuki-chan didn't make it."

Jerry patted Takahiro's head softly, in condolence.

"Anyway, Renji-sama, told me not to ever go there. I didn't know why until a few months later when I passed by the prison cells. There were a lot of sick looking guys that had red hair and tattoos like Renji-sama, they were so pale, I thought they were hungry so I smuggled some food for them… They didn't even eat my food." Takahiro's voice became sad and depressed. "Some vomited when they saw the food, I was caught by one of the guards but he knew I was Renji-sama's favorite attendant so he let me go with a warning, I was curious so I asked him why they were so sick and why they refused the food if they were hungry. He told me they were victims of Jiroh-sama's experiments. He didn't tell me much just that they failed the 'tests'. I was getting more curious, but it seemed Renji-sama knew what I was up to, cause he knew I had been at the prison cells, he asked me what I knew, and I told him. Renji-sama then explained that Koji-sama wanted to create the perfect child, who would be very strong. I was confused cause I thought men couldn't get pregnant. When I asked, Renji-sama laughed and said they the operation was to make men pregnant, I think used hollows to make the fake womb… It's kinda creepy and scary."

"How does the operation work?" Soi-fon asked, however she was replied by Jerry.

"Shinigami's weren't the only ones captured for the experiments; some powerful hollows were captured also. The spirit centers of the hollows as well as their souls are used to create the artificial womb. Condensed reishi as well as the spirit centers are used to create a new soul using methods somewhat similar to the creation of mod souls. A particular kido spell, which I would assume is forbidden, is used to create a barrier of sorts, the womb is placed in the barrier which attaches itself to the patient's core making it impossible to remove. Unfortunately the artificial womb is highly unstable; as the barrier isn't very stable and tends to devour the patient's life force to sustain itself. I assume there are other properties used I the creation of the womb but those are the only ones I know. Anyway, the chances of surviving the experiments were less than 5%, and so far only two people have survived the experiments."

"Who?" Ichigo asked.

"Renji-sama and Takao-sama."

"What the hell!"

"Ichigo-dono, please remember that we are still in hiding. And yes, Renji-sama survived the experiments, and give Koji-sama a beautiful baby girl." Ichigo's face paled, and Takahiro began fretting, but Jerry ignored them and continued his explanation. "The experiment creates the perfect child who would have both shinigami and Hollow powers, besides Renji-sama was a captain class shinigami, combining that to Koji-sama's power plus the hollow power, the child is bound to be strong." Looking out the cave he notices that it's approaching day break. "Ah, it seems we have been talking for a long time, It is already dawn, perhaps it's time to move, or would you like to sleep for a while.

"No, we're leaving." Ichigo ordererd.

Carrying the unconscious men, they ran into the wilderness. Hours later they ran into an invincible wall.

"Taka-chan, do you have the key." Jerry asked. Takahiro, fidgeted with the sleeves of his kimono and brought out a small key with two prongs.

Jerry placed the key into the invincible wall, and to their surprise a portal opened and sucked them in.

-0-

Two shinigami's dressed in the customary shihakusho, one of whom had an orange piece of clothing around his neck on top of the uniform. Ikkaku grinned when a portal suddenly opened a few meters away from them and six people come into view, two of which were the supposedly kidnapped captains.

"Yo, Ichigo!"

"Ikkaku?"

Before the two men could continue their conversation, Urahara and Yoruichi stepped out of the Shōten. The attention of the shinigami's shifted to the two unconscious men with hairstyles and tattoos similar to Renji's.

"Perhaps it would be best if we discussed this inside." Urahara says with a smile, beside him Yoruichi stood silent her eyes filled with seriousness.

-0-

In one of the rooms in the Shōten the two unconscious males laid on a futon while Tessai attended to them. In the other room, Yoruichi, Urahara, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Ichigo, Soi-Fon, Takahiro and Jerry had a deep discussion.

"Oi, Ichigo. What the hell is going on, there's this rumor in soul society that Renji kidnapped you guys." Ikkaku asked, he is however surprised by the look of rage on Ichigo, the little guy (Takahiro) and the other guy (Jerry). He is more surprised when the small guy bursts into a full blown Renji worship.

"How dare they? Renji-sama has done so such thing. Do not soil Renji-sama's name." Takahiro yelled, his fists clenched in anger.

Ichigo was honestly surprised that the timid guy yelled at Ikkaku, defending Renji. Not wanting things to escalate further (ie before Ikkaku beat up the kid) he tapped the kid on the shoulder repeatedly to calm him down.

"Calm down, nobody is suspecting Renji of anything."

"Renji…sama?" Ikkaku asks, turning to Ichigo with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Yeah, Renji was forced to marry the bastard."

"I take it the bastard is the man behind all this?" Yumichika asks. Ichigo nodded grimly.

"The bastard even did weird experiments to him."

At the mention of experiments, Urahara interrupted their conversation.

"Speaking of experiments, I examined the two men you came with, and despite the fact that their spirit centers seems to be permanently destroyed, there seemed to be some barrier preventing the healing spells from working. Any ideas on what was done to them and how it can be reversed."

"Wait, when Soi-Fon collapsed Renji gave us some antidote to revive her, we used the antidote to revive them too, but their situation was worse than hers so, it didn't work that well." The other shinigami's raised their brows in shock.

"Wait, Soi-Fon Taichō collapsed?!" Ikkaku exclaimed. Urahara ignored Ikkaku's question and turned to Ichigo.

"What antidote? Do you still have it? If you have a sample I can be able to create a cure it might be temporary but it's the best we can do on short notice."

"Shit, I left it behind." Ichigo replied, his head low and his fists clenched in regret and frustration.

Yoruichi who had been silent, opting to study Soi-Fon, knew she was hiding something.

"Soi-Fon, Give us the antidote." Her voice was clear and left no room for arguments or refusal, all attention was turned to the small captain. After a few seconds she sighed and brought out the small bottle from her tattered shihakusho, much to the gaping Ichigo's surprise.

The atmosphere was awkward after Soi-Fon brought out the antidote bottle, Ichigo as glaring at the small captain, the others however were quiet and had taken a few steps back… for caution of course, as it looked like Ichigo would soon spontaneously combust.

"You had this the whole time and you said nothing?" Ichigo yelled accusingly.

"It is vital information that would help in the investigation of the kidnappings; I was simply doing my job." Soi-Fon yelled back. The two captains were then glaring at each other, until Yumichika broke the awkward silence.

"Ichigo we are going off track, you mentioned some unbeautiful creature conducting experiments on Renji." That effectively stopped the two captain's glare-off, and Ichigo turned to the effeminate man and nodded, his face showing clear distaste.

"Yeah the bastard did some freaky experiment on Renji with hollows spirit centers to make some fake womb, now he has a kid."

Yoruichi, Ikkaku and Yumichika's eyes widened in surprise, Urahara's face was hidden behind the fan but he the rest he was just as shocked.

"H…How?" Yumichika asked, Ichigo turned to Jerry, who took it as a cue to speak up.

"Renji-sama is one of the two people who survived Koji-sama's experiments."

"And what happened to tha rest?" Ikkaku asked with barely restrained anger.

"Unfortunately they died; it would seem the artificial womb slowly drained their lives force, It is a very complicated and unstable process. Miki-sama was born during Renji-sama's third attempt."

This however got Ichigo's full attention, and suddenly the room got stuffier as Ichigo's reiatsu flared violently.

"What do you mean by Renji's third attempt?"

"Well according to Jiroh-sama, Renji-sama lost the pregnancy twice due to stress." Ichigo's reiatsu got more violent Yoruichi decided step in.

"Ichigo calm down, Jerry who else survived the experiments?"

"Well Takao-sama survived the experiments but he couldn't carry the child to term due to some unforeseen circumstances."

"I take it things didn't end well with him?"

"Takao-sama is very much alive if that is what you meant, although I do not know much concerning his whereabouts. Koji-sama changed his partners quite often." Ichigo's reiatsu flared again.

"ICHIGO, Calm down!"

"Sorry, continue."

"Koji-sama did change partners a lot until Takao-sama and Renji-sama. After Takao-sama lost his fifth pregnancy, Takao-sama became depressed and became withdrawn. Renji-sama is the longest partner Koji-sama has ever had, unlike his other partners Koji-sama does Love Renji-sama. Besides Renji-sama is the only one who can calm Koji-sama down when he is angry.

"Koji-sama is always happy around Renji-sama." Takahiro added.

"Bullshit! The bastard kidnapped Renji, did some weird experiment on him, forced himself on him and made him pregnant, and you tell me he loves him? I will fucking kill him!"

"Ichigo-dono…"

Before Jerry could continue his sentence a senkaimon opened and three figures walked in, their eye showing seriousness.


	5. Soul Society

**Hehe, chapter four ending wasn't supposed to be a cliff hanger, somehow it turned out that way… Well here's the next chapter. Sorry for the delay.**

**Hopefully chapter four of Redemption would be posted soon, as well as the sixth chapter of Always yours.**

**PS: I'M STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA**

**Chapter Five:**   _Soul Society_

Things had been in disarray since the disappearance of the two captains almost a week before. The Noble council didn't make things any easier nor did the relatives of the victims do anything other than disrupt the investigation. Sadly no one had been able to obtain concrete information as to who was really behind the gruesome kidnappings and murder of the kidnapped victims, where the portal lead to as well as what Renji's connection really was.

Despite the evidence linking Renji to the kidnappings, most captains especially Kenpachi, Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Ukitake and Kyōraku, did not believe the former lieutenant would willingly betray Soul Society, as well as become an accomplice to mass murder. This made them wonder who was really pulling the strings.

What had bothered most of them was the fact that Renji had shown up out of the blues after a decade, covered in seals as well as undergone a drastic change in appearance. This meant that the former lieutenant was important to whoever was behind this, so much so that  _they_  didn't want him to escape or spill any secrets that might give  _them_  away. The question was who ' _they_ ' were.

Preventive measures had been taken after Ichigo and Soi-Fon's disappearance through the unknown portal, and the twelfth division was put in charge of monitoring all portals, Senkaimon or Garngata opened in either Soul society, Hueco Mundo or the living world. Kurotsuchi personally had no complaints as he was curious as to how the portal worked. For added precaution the twelfth division captain was also tasked with the creation of a device that would automatically alert all captains if any unknown portal showed up in any of the three worlds. Whoever it was might probably be after other captains.

This new device was useful (A bit too useful) when suddenly alert bells rang loudly through Seireitei, announcing that a portal similar to the one Renji arrived in had emerged in Karakura town. Immediately hell butterflies delivering messages to three captains were dispatched, ordering the said captains to investigate the portal and informing them to use force if necessary.

-0-

A Senkaimon opened and from it stepped three captains; Zaraki Kenpachi captain of the 11th squad, Kuchiki Byakuya captain of the 6th squad and Hitsugaya Toshiro captain of the 10th squad.

"Taichō..?" Yumichika and Ikkaku exclaimed in surprise.

"Byakuya..?" Byakuya's eyebrow twitched at Ichigo calling his name so casually. Hitsugaya who had been ignored so far decided to speak up.

"We have been sent to investigate an unknown portal that opened nearby."

"Yeah, that was us." Ichigo replied sheepishly while scratching his head.

"And you did not deem this important enough to inform Seireitei of your return." Byakuya asked Ichigo, his voice held a tint of concern Ichigo wasn't sure he had heard.

"I apologize; we had two people who needed immediate medical attention." Soi-Fon apologized.

"All the more reason to inform us." Byakuya replied, his eyes not leaving Ichigo's.

"Oi, we needed a place to relax and gather our thoughts, it's not like we weren't going to come back eventually." Byakuya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, before he could reply Kenpachi who had been silent so far and was looking at his 3rd and 5th seat spoke up.

"Where's red?" Kenpachi asked, referring to Renji. His officers turned to Ichigo and Soi-Fon, redirecting the question to the two captains, the two captains in turn redirected the question to Jerry and Takahiro.

"Renji-sama was unable to come with us." The three captains looked at Ichigo and Soi-Fon questionably. Ichigo understanding the raised eyebrows replied.

"He's married to the bastard who kidnapped him." The three captains nodded as though that explained a lot.

"Regardless, your disappearance had caused quite an uproar and it would be best for you to return immediately. They would be coming along with you they are after all viable witnesses, hopefully with their assistance we would be able to understand the situation at hand." Byakuya explained gesturing to Jerry and Takahiro. A senkaimon opened and without waiting for a reply the three captains walked back into it fully expecting them to follow.

-0-

The 30th head of the clan Genji Seiichi, known for his unwavering loyalty, intelligence and patience, was at the end of his wits. The clan meeting had gone exactly has he had predicted… horribly! The meeting had taken a turn for the worst when Koji showed up, charming the clan elders and practically oozing with fake cheeriness.

_ **Flashback** _

"Cousin, perhaps you would like to tell me why you dispatched some of the clans shinobi to spy on me?" Koji asked, looking Seiichi square in the eye, golden eyes flashing in threat.

"It my duty as the clan leader to keep an eye on each member of our clan, surely you remember the incident with Lady Hanako? Not to worry the spies are in no way going to interrupt your daily activities." Seiichi replied calmly meeting his cousin gaze, his face showing no emotion.

"I'm disappointed you think I would stoop to such level as to commit sexual immoralities and shame our clan. Perhaps I should remind you that I am happily married and my beloved has given me a beautiful girl." Whispers erupted in the hall as no one knew about Koji's marriage much less the birth of his child.

"Forgive me, one can never be too careful, when shall I meet my niece?"

"My dear Miki-chan is quite delicate, but I've made some arrangements to allow future visits."

"Ah, it's such a shame; I was looking forward to spending some time with her."

_**Flashback End** _

The meeting had gone down hill from there and Koji had flashed tons of photos of his daughter in everyone face, bragging about 'his little angel', Seiichi had to admit, the child was undeniably Koji's; she had his eyes, nose, smile and whatnot the only difference was the slightly tanned skin and the blood red hair.

With the news of Koji's marriage as well as the discovery of his daughter, Seiichi's position as clan head was seriously being threatened, unfortunately adoption was out of the question as the clan elders were adamant on the child having the Genji blood in its veins. He had no interest in another woman as he loved his wife deeply, the stress and pressure to create a child was not making the situation any better. If he wasn't mistaken the Kuchiki clan head had been single for decades and without an heir, he doubted if the Kuchiki leader was even being pressured to produce a child like he was.

If only he knew the truth.

-0-

At the return of the previously missing captains an emergency meeting was immediately held, in order to question the individuals who had assisted in the escape of the captains as well as obtain information on the mass murder attacks. The gotei 13 captains had suspected that the mass murder which had occurred a decade ago was somehow linked to the disappearance of the captains; unfortunately they had no evidence proving their thoughts and were thus hoping that the emergency meeting would answer all unanswered questions they had.

Takahiro really didn't like shinigami's if he was to be honest, the only ones he had ever seen were the once who were assigned to the 77th district of east Rukon where he had lived till he met Jiroh-sama, they were heartless brutes who did nothing other than drink their asses off and harass people. Renji-sama was of course an exception, the two captains who Renji–sama had asked him to help were also exceptions but only because he would do anything for Renji-sama. He was starting to like Ichigo-dono, but only because the orange haired shinigami seems to care about Renji-sama. He most definitely was NOT okay with attending a meeting with 13 shinigami captains! He really didn't think he had done anything to incur such bad luck, He was scared so very scared and his beloved Renji-sama wasn't here to hug him and make everything better. Jerry-dono however didn't seem to be in the least bit nervous, the older man was acting as though be invited to a captains meeting for questioning was an everyday occurrence!

-0-

The assembly hall was filled with loud murmurings and a visibly shaking boy who was doing a perfect impression of a cornered mouse; It was amazing that the captains who were supposed to be composed and orderly were acting like unruly animals, they were all speaking and shouting at the same time, bombarding the poor kid with questions without waiting for an answer before asking another, completely ignoring Jerry. Jerry of course was glad the spotlight wasn't on him even though he felt sorry for Takahiro, he really did, but no amount of sympathy for the poor kid could make him redirect the hungry gazes of the captains to him.

"SILENCE!"

At the loud order from the captain commander followed by the sound of his wooden staff hitting the ground, the hall immediately grew silent, and the captains directed their attention to the old man much to Takahiro's relief.

"Child, what is your name?" The captain commander asked, putting the kid on the spotlight again.

"Y..Yamaguchi T..Takahiro." he stuttered. His answer caused the old man to open an eye, and Takahiro could swear that he had never been more scared for his life as he was now.

"I was informed that you assisted in the escape of the two captains."

"H..Hai."

"What prompted your assistance?"

"Renji-sama asked me to." Takahiro replied blushing, the Sotaichō remained silent until a handsome white haired captain broke the stillness.

"By Renji-sama I assume you are referring to Abarai Renji, a former lieutenant of one of the 13 divisions."Ukitake asked.

"Hai." He replied calmly, the white haired man had a soothing aura around him that made him feel safe.

"Were you and Abarai close?"

"Um… Renji-sama made me his personal attendant, I think we were close."

"I see, T…" Ukitake was cut off by a weird looking man with a creepy make-up.

"Tell me about the experiments, done to the other victims." Kurotsuchi demanded, causing the kid to turn deathly pale, Jerry sighed and decided to put the kid out of his misery before he collapsed.

"Jiroh-sama was conducting an experiment to allow male pregnancy."

"I see, such pathetic work I must say." Something about the weird looking captain ticked Jerry off the wrong way.

"I don't think so, the experiment was successful." The ex-guard's statement caused an uproar, which ended immediately the Sotaichō hit his stick on the floor.

"Explain!"

"Renji-sama is one of the two who survived the experiment as well as produced a daughter for Koji-sama."

"You mentioned two names: Koji and Jiroh, who are they?" Ukitake asked.

"Koji-sama is Renji-sama's husband and our master, Jiroh-sama is Koji-sama right hand man."

"And this Jiroh is responsible for the experiments?"

"Yes, Jiroh-sama is in charge of all experiments." Jerry replied.

Unohana who had been silent since the meeting began, had finally decided to voice her thoughts. "Were the two unconscious victims brought along with you also subjected to this experiment?"

"Yes, they were."

"How many others survived the experiments?"

"Two, with the exception of the once we came with."

"What happened to the rest?"

"Their bodies couldn't withstand the burden of the foreign reiatsu, their spirit centers drained their life force to try to stabilize itself, it didn't really work so their bodies slowly shut down." As expected his response had caused reaction from sadness, repulsion to curiosity among the captains

"A foreign reiatsu similar to that of a hollow was found in the body of the victims brought in, as well as traces found in Soi-Fon Taichō, Is Koji working with hollows for this experiment?"

"Knowing Jiroh-sama he probably simply captured them and used them for his experiments."

"What other experiments did Jiroh perform other than this?"

"Well there were rumors of Koji-sama and Miki-sama Elite guards being modified."

"what kind of modification?"

"Well some claim they can fire cero's, I've never actually seen them. The Elite guards are rarely seen so no one knows if it's true."

"That certainly is problematic; they would have made excellent test subjects, assuming the rumors are true of couse." Kurotsuchi remarked dryly.

"Tell me about the child Abarai conceived." Byakuya asked, ignoring Kurotsuchi's comment.

"Miki-dono, is exceptional, at seven attained her shikai, she is also a very talented at swordsmanship and kido, I assume she would possess some hollow powers but I've never seen her hollow form, Koji-sama keeps her guarded at all times and her schedule doesn't allow her to leave her quarters or training room often."

"WTF, you didn't mention that! What the hell do you mean her schedule?" Ichigo demanded. Jerry sighed, which pissed off the orange haired captain even more.

"Ichigo-dono, the whole point of making Renji-sama able to bear kids was to make sure the child is exceptional and powerful, surely you do not expect her not to be well trained." Ichigo's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and the other captains could see he was seconds away from strangling Jerry.

"What's her schedule like?"

"Ah, from what I know, she spends most the day working training, or sparing with her guards, I believe Koji-sama regularly visits her."

"And Renji?" His voice was soft, almost pleading.

"Ichigo-dono, while Renji-sama gave birth to her, he isn't really allowed to spend some time with her, he does have a lot of responsibilities and Miki-sama does not need the distraction." Jerry's voice had lost all edges of teasing; his voice was slightly rough and pained.

"So he did some freaky experiment on Renji and doesn't even let him see his own kid?" Ichigo was however met with silence from Jerry, as the ex-guard wasn't sure how to answer Ichigo's question or if he was even supposed to answer it. The stifling silence was broke by Hitsugaya.

"The portal you used couldn't be tracked or located, how did you make it out?"

"It is impossible to open the portal from here." Jerry replied shocking everyone one.

"What of the key you used to open the portal that brought us back?"

"Ano Ichigo-dono, that was Renji-sama's personal key, Koji-sama gave him as a gift, it can only be used once." Takahiro replied, making Ichigo want to bang his head against a wall. Once again a depressing silence hung through the hall.

"That is all for now, you are dismissed." Jerry and Takahiro nodded and left the assembly hall.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss the charges against Abarai?" Soi-Fon asked.

"Renji is innocent, dammit! We were only able to escape because of him, who knows what that crazy bastard will do to him."

"Ichigo calm down."Ukitake calmly replied. "Soi-Fon Taichō, is there any evidence to prove his innocence?"

"There is none, but we were able to get some information about the kidnappings, as well as claims linking Koji to one of the great four Noble houses."

"What!? Is there any proof of that claim? Any false allegations against a noble clan, much less one of the great four noble is a punishable offense."

"There is no proof of the claim but is currently the only information we have on the identity of Koji."

"If he is really from a Noble clan, the Kuchiki archive would be able to provide some information on him. I will search the archives for all those who fit the specification you gave earlier."

"And what clan is he suspected to be from." Ukitake asked, not really wanting to hear the answer, he already had a bad feeling about it.

"Genji clan."

"Shit!" Kenpachi, Ichigo and Hitsugaya cursed, the other captains remained silent.


End file.
